Surveillance Research Program Bulletin–Fall 2006
Contents
Mission Statement
The Surveillance Research Program (SRP) directs the collection and analysis of pertinent data in
order to answer key questions about cancer incidence, morbidity, mortality, and cancer-related
health status in diverse regions and populations in the United States. As part of the SRP mission,
the Cancer Statistics Branch manages the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)
Program, an integrated, comprehensive, multiple population-based cancer registry system
authorized by the National Cancer Act of 1971.
SRP also provides leadership, through its Statistical Research and Applications Branch, in developing
statistical methodologies appropriate for analyzing trends and for evaluating the impact of cancer control interventions as well as geographic, social, behavioral, genetic, and health care delivery factors on
the cancer burden.
An authoritative source of information on cancer incidence and survival, SEER currently collects and publishes
data covering approximately 26 percent of the U.S. population. Established in 1973, the SEER Program provides the
greatest longevity and highest level of standardization for population-based cancer information in the United States.
Highlights
Most Recent Data Release
County Attribute Variables
New in 2006, SEER*Stat includes county-level attribute variables that are linked
to SEER incidence, U.S. mortality, and U.S. population data. This new feature
enables users to compute cancer rates and frequency distributions stratified by
sociodemographic variables that characterize the county of residence for each
cancer case record. Variables related to educational attainment, employment,
income, foreign place of birth, migration, and poverty status are among those now
available. A more detailed description of the county attribute variables may be
found at http://seer.cancer.gov/seerstat/variables/countyattribs/.
New Monographs
Cancer Epidemiology in Adolescents and Young Adults
This monograph is the first treatise to collect detailed information exclusively on cancer incidence and outcomes in adolescents
and young adults (AYA) 15-29 years of age. It was developed to gather
population-based incidence, mortality, and survival data specific to cancers that
occur in the AYA population. Each chapter is disease specific. The monograph
seeks to educate medical providers and the public concerning cancer incidence and
survival in this age group and to provide the impetus for
further research in hopes of improving survival and the
quality of life of these young people.
Bleyer A, O'Leary M, Barr R, Ries LAG (eds). Cancer Epidemiology
in Older Adolescents and Young Adults 15 to 29 Years of Age,
Including SEER Incidence and Survival: 1975-2000. National
Cancer Institute, NIH Pub. No. 06-5767. Bethesda, MD 2006.
Available online at http://seer.cancer.gov/publications, or a
printed copy may be requested at 1-800-4-CANCER.
Middle East Cancer Consortium Monograph
This monograph compiles information
on cancer incidence between 1996
and 2001, drawn from cancer registries
in four of the member countries (Cyprus, Egypt,
Israel, and Jordan), as part of the Joint Cancer Registration
Project of the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC). The
primary goal of MECC, established in 1996, is to reduce the
incidence and impact of cancer in the Middle East through
collaborative research. The monograph marks the first comprehensive publication of the MECC Cancer Registration
Project and includes information on the study population,
how data were collected, data interpretation, and data
strengths and limitations.
Freeman LS, Edwards BK, Ries LAG, Young JL (eds). Cancer
Incidence in Four Member Countries (Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, and
Jordan) of the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC)
Compared with U.S. SEER. National Cancer Institute. NIH Pub.
No. 06-5873. Bethesda, MD 2006.
Available at the SEER Web site at http://seer.cancer.gov/publications and on the MECC Web site at
http://mecc.cancer.gov, under Cancer Registry Project.
Methods for Measuring Cancer Disparities Monograph
This report raises conceptual issues concerning the overall Healthy People 2010
goals of increasing the span of healthy
life and eliminating health disparities
across the categories of gender, race or ethnicity,
education or income, and geographic location. It provides
an innovative methodologic approach germane to measuring
progress toward the goal of eliminating health disparities.
The report recommends a sequence of steps to measure
and monitor health disparities trends, using a suite of
indicators and measurement strategies, and discusses the
strengths and weaknesses of each.
Harper S, Lynch J. Methods for Measuring Cancer Disparities: Using
Data Relevant to Healthy People 2010 Cancer-Related Objectives.
NCI Cancer Surveillance Monograph Series, Number 6. National
Cancer Institute. NIH Pub. No. 05-5777. Bethesda, MD 2005.
Available at http://seer.cancer.gov/publications/disparities.
Funding Opportunities Sponsored by SRP
Biostatistics Funding
The Surveillance Research Program's funded grants portfolio
is available at http://statfund.cancer.gov. This Web site is
managed by Ram Tiwari, Ph.D., a Program Director and
Mathematical Statistician in the Statistical Research and
Applications Branch. The portfolio consists of approximately
100 funded projects in biometry and biostatistics. Statistical
methods in this portfolio allow for the interpretation of
research results across the full spectrum of the cancer
control continuum. Established for the extramural statistical
research community, statfund.cancer.gov brings together in
one place much of the relevant information about National
Institutes of Health (NIH) funding mechanisms and opportunities in the field of biostatistics.
Small Business Innovation Research Opportunities
Opportunities in Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
include (1) Development of Software Systems to Facilitate the
Use of Electronic Data Records in the Collection of Population-Based Cancer Surveillance Data, and (2) Develop Automated
Methods to Identify Environmental Exposure Patterns in
Satellite Imagery Data. Announcements are available at
http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbircontract/phs2007-1.pdf, numbers 233 and 234.
Employment Opportunities
The Surveillance Research Program currently has a number of
positions available. The positions encompass several areas of
responsibility: (1) developing new analytic approaches and
methods to estimate and present statistics that contribute to
the understanding and interpretation of cancer data,
including developing software associated with these new
statistical methodologies; (2) conducting research to answer
key questions about cancer rates, risk factors (including
genetic risk factors), outcomes, and cancer-related health
status in diverse U.S. populations; (3) initiating and managing
collaborative analyses of SEER data and the rich data sets that
result from database linkages such as SEER and the National
Longitudinal Mortality Study; and (4) developing geographic
information systems that apply visualization techniques to
geospatial data to expand insight into cancer statistics, particularly patterns of cancer incidence, mortality, and survival.
Each position includes responsibility for initiating and
managing collaborative analyses with scientists from NCI
and other institutes, agencies, and academic centers. Current openings include:
- Chief, Cancer Statistics Branch (considerable
postdoctoral experience required)
- Senior Mathematical Statistician (requires a minimum of
4 years of postdoctoral experience)
- Biostatistician (requires a minimum of 2 years of
postdoctoral experience)
A doctoral degree is required for all positions. Excellent
communication and interpersonal skills also are essential.
The salary will be commensurate with experience. The
positions are located in Rockville, MD, near Washington,
DC, and include excellent benefits. U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is required for federal positions. The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and
NIH are equal opportunity employers. Please send a cover
letter that briefly summarizes your experience and interests
along with your Curriculum Vitae, preferably by e-mail, by November 30, 2006, to:
Judith Swan, MHS
Surveillance Research Program, DCCPS
E-mail: js60y@nih.gov
http://surveillance.cancer.gov/
http://seer.cancer.gov/
http://srab.cancer.gov/
Training Opportunities
Principles of Oncology Training Program
A. Fritz and Associates is holding a concentrated 5-day
training program in cancer registry operations and procedures entitled, "Principles of Oncology for Cancer Registry
Professionals." The program will emphasize accurate data
collection methods and will include extensive, site-specific,
hands-on case coding, abstracting, and staging sessions
using practice cases that are representative of the many
situations registrars may face. The course will be held
December 4-8, 2006, in Reno, Nevada, and is endorsed by the
National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA) and the North
American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR).
The registration fee is $895, and all workshop materials will
be provided. This program is currently full and operating on
a waiting list; however, additional training programs on the
topic are being scheduled for the upcoming year.
For additional course information, prerequisites, and registration materials, please visit http://www.afritz.org/courses.htm.
Quantitative Methods in Cancer Surveillance Course
Well Received
The Statistical Research and Applications Branch (SRAB)
recently coordinated a course entitled "Quantitative
Methods in Cancer Surveillance" at the Summer Institute
of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, offered through the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This
5-day course, held June 26-30, 2006, provided students
with skills needed to understand and implement statistical methods used in cancer surveillance. More than 40
individuals attended from a variety of backgrounds,
including cancer registrars, researchers, and oncologists.
For future course offerings, see the SRAB Web site at
http://srab.cancer.gov/.
SRP Staff News
April Fritz Retires From SEER
April G. Fritz, Registered Health
Information Technician and Certified
Tumor Registrar, retired in the spring
of 2006 from her position as Manager
of Data Quality for the SEER Program
after 10 years of employment at NCI.
During her tenure, she aided in the
development of numerous standard
registry references in addition to
tools for cancer registrars. She was
responsible for the development of the Principles of Oncology
for Cancer Registry Professionals training program in 1992.
A former president of the National Cancer Registrars
Association (NCRA), Ms. Fritz received numerous professional honors, including the Distinguished Member and
Education awards from the NCRA, the Distinguished
Service Award from the North American Association of
Central Cancer Registries, and service awards from NCI.
Following her retirement from NCI and relocation to Nevada,
Ms. Fritz has formed her own cancer registry training and
consulting company. Additionally, she recently was appointed
Director of the Cancer Information Management Program at
Santa Barbara City College in California.
Benjamin Hankey Retires From CSB
Benjamin F. Hankey, Sc.D., retired on
June 30, 2006, after 38 years of NCI
service. He spent his career at NCI
working in various capacities as a
mathematical statistician, most
recently having served as Chief of the
Cancer Statistics Branch (CSB) in the
Surveillance Research Program since
1989. Under his management, the
SEER program accomplished wider
coverage, having expanded in several phases to cover from 11
to 26 percent of the U.S. population.
"Ben's leadership in the collection and analysis of high-quality
cancer incidence data has been essential to the cancer research
enterprise," said Dr. Robert Croyle, DCCPS Director.
Dr. Hankey first came to NCI in 1968 while still a graduate
student at the University of Pittsburgh working toward his
Sc.D. in Biostatistics. At this juncture, his research focused
primarily on statistical methods for analyzing survival data
and the analysis of data from clinical studies. His thesis
focused on the association between stomach cancer and the
consumption of various foods by Japanese migrants living
in Hawaii to explain the changes in cancer risk observed in
migrants as they became more Westernized. More recently,
his research involved statistical methods for cancer surveillance, the interpretation of trends in cancer rates, and the
creation of tools for integrating cancer surveillance data
into the cancer control planning process.
Dr. Hankey departs NCI with an impressive history of
accomplishments, including having received the NIH
Merit Award (1993) and the prestigious NIH Director's
Award (1998). Dr. Hankey also served as a reviewer for
numerous scientific journals, including the Journal of the
National Cancer Institute, Cancer, Journal of Chronic
Diseases, Biometrics, Preventive Medicine, and Cancer
Causes and Control.
In retirement, Dr. Hankey will continue his research in
collaboration with Dr. Rocky Feuer and others to develop
a tool to provide more meaningful information on patient
prognosis to both clinicians and patients who use the
SEER database.
Lin Clegg Moves to Veterans Affairs
Limin (Lin) Clegg, Ph.D., a mathematical statistician in SRP since 1997,
recently accepted the position of
Senior Mathematical Statistician in
the Office of Healthcare Inspections
in the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA). At the VA, Dr. Clegg
will be working on projects that
provide oversight and consultation
to improve and strengthen VA
health care programs that are essential to the well-being of
veteran patients.
Dr. Clegg brought to SRP a theoretical approach to population-based cancer statistics evidenced in publications on such
topics as reporting delay adjustment, cancer prevalence
estimation, and survival analysis. She provided statistical
consultation to many projects within SRP, DCCPS, and
others. She oversaw numerous activities under the SEER
Rapid Response Surveillance Study Program, the National
Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS), and the SEER-NLMS Study. She also mentored Cancer Research Training Award fellows from the Harvard Biostatistics
Department and MIT Mathematics Department.
In addition to other publications, Dr. Clegg has authored or
coauthored more than 40 research articles published in peer-reviewed journals, including Biometrics, The Journal of the
American Statistical Association, American Journal of
Epidemiology, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Journal of
Clinical Oncology, and The New England Journal of
Medicine. She was awarded the NIH Merit Award in 2001. She
was also awarded the prestigious James E. Grizzle Distinguished
Alumni Award in 2004 from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, where she earned her Ph.D. in biostatistics.
Lynn Ries Elected to Position in IACR
Lynn Ann Gloeckler Ries, M.S.,
was elected in August 2006 to be
the North American representative
to the International Association of
Cancer Registries (IACR). Founded
in 1966, IACR is a professional
society dedicated to promoting the
goals and activities of cancer registries worldwide. IACR provides
cancer statistics on five continents
and has had official relations with
the World Health Organization since January 1979.
Lynn Ries received a B.A. in mathematics from St. Joseph
College and completed her master's degree in biomathematics at the University of Washington. Currently, she
is a health statistician in NCI's Cancer Statistics Branch,
where her areas of interest include childhood cancer,
trends in incidence and mortality rates, cancer registry
operations, and standards used in data collection. Ms. Ries
also serves on numerous committees within the North
American Association of Central Cancer Registries
(NAACCR), including the Uniform Standards Committee,
Information and Technology Committee, EDITS subcommittee, Standards Implementation Work Group, Real Time
Reporting subcommittee, and the Volume II Work Group.
Additionally, she serves on the Brain Tumor Program
Review Group at NCI. She also co-authors the "Annual
Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer" and the Cancer Statistics Review.
Marsha Reichman Named Cancer Statistics Branch Acting Chief
Marsha E. Reichman, Ph.D., has
been named Acting Chief of SRP's
Cancer Statistics Branch. She is a
biostatistician/epidemiologist who
will provide leadership within the
program through the coordination
of data collection, data reporting
and interpretation, and research
activities. Prior to joining SRP in
early 2003, she was the Director of
the Epidemiology and Survey Research Unit at Northrop
Grumman Information Technologies Solutions, where she
provided technical oversight and direction on projects
for numerous federal agencies, including the National
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the Office
of Women's Health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
and the DHHS Office of Research Integrity. She also has
been a member of the Scientific Grants Review Panel at
the Cancer Research Foundation of America since 1992.
Dr. Reichman has been involved in the development of
the SEER registry data management system (SEER*DMS),
research in cancer-related health disparities, cancer survival,
biospecimen-related studies, and statistics for population
groups. She is cochair of the DCCPS Health Informatics
Steering Committee, NCI Liaison to the caBIG Population
Sciences Special Interest Group, and is a member of the
steering committee for the SEER/National Longitudinal
Mortality Study (NLMS).
Dr. Reichman holds a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.S. in
mathematical statistics from the University of Maryland, and
a B.A. in mathematics and biology from Barnard College.
Kathy Cronin Receives the NIH Director's Award
Kathy Cronin, Ph.D., a 2006
recipient of the NIH Director's
Award, is a mathematical statistician in the Statistical Research and
Applications Branch, SRP. This
prestigious award recognizes the
expert skills and efforts of NIH
employees in scientific discovery
management. Dr. Cronin has been
a leader in the impact of cancer
control interventions on population incidence and mortality and a principal in a study among investigators of
NCI's Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling
Network (CISNET) to address the question of screening
mammography and treatment effects on breast cancer
mortality. Findings from this landmark study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and resulted in a major contribution to public health practice.
Dr. Cronin received her master's degree in operations
research from the George Washington University, her
M.P.H. concentrating in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins
University, and her Ph.D. in operations research from
Cornell University. She also has been the recipient of the
NIH Merit Award, given to researchers in recognition of
superior competence and outstanding productivity in
their research endeavors.
SEER*DMS Team Wins 2006 Merit Award
The SEER*DMS (data management system) team was
awarded the 2006 NIH Merit Award for its leadership
and outstanding effort in developing Database
Management System software for cancer registries that
participate in the SEER Program. Led by Dr. Marsha
Reichman, the team includes the SRP's Carol Kosary,
M.S., Lynn Ries, M.S., Steve Peace, B.A., C.T.R., and
Peggy Adamo, R.H.I.T., C.T.R.; and, from Information
Management Services, Inc. (IMS), Dave Annett, Chuck May,
Nicki Schussler, Linda Coyle, Laurie Rich, Janis Beach,
Jessica Lachewitz, Deb Hacker, Jennifer Kaplan, Andrew
Lafollette, Manfred Heinemann, John Simpson, Michael
Depry, Roger Cracel, Arianit Rukaj, Fabian Depry, and
Scott Depuy. This prestigious award is presented annually
to researchers who have demonstrated superior competence
and productivity in their research endeavors.
The team developed
SEER*DMS with
extensive input from
the 15 SEER cancer
registries. It was
implemented for the
first time in 2005 at
the Detroit Tumor
Registry, at the
Connecticut Tumor
Registry in 2006,
and is scheduled for
implementation in
two additional registries during the upcoming year.
SEER*DMS provides a unified, modular approach to central cancer registry function and can be customized to
individual registries, including modification of workflow.
The system facilitates updating methods and algorithms
for collecting and reporting data, provides cost-savings,
and increases the efficiency of registry operations.
Grantee Award: Xihong Lin Awarded the 2006 Presidents' Award
Xihong Lin, Ph.D., a professor in
the Department of Biostatistics at
Harvard University and an SRP
grantee, has been awarded the
2006 Presidents' Award from the
Committee of Presidents of
Statistical Societies (COPSS). This
award is presented annually to a
young statistician in recognition
of his/her outstanding contribution
to the statistics profession and is the most prestigious
honor awarded by the COPSS. Dr. Lin's award citation
referenced her methodological work in several areas,
including longitudinal data analysis, survival analysis,
and the analysis of measurement errors. In addition, she
was recognized for her exceptional leadership in the
training of young researchers in the field of biostatistics.
Her methodological research has been sponsored by NCI
since 1997, and she currently serves as Principal
Investigator for three grants. Two of these grants are
R13 multiyear conference grants: R13CA90250: ENAR
Young Researcher Workshop; and R13CA124365:
Conferences on Emerging Statistical Issues in Biometric
Issues. The third grant covers 2R01CA76404-11:
Statistical Methods for Correlated and High-Dimensional
Biomedical Data. All of these grants are housed in SRP's
biostatistical methodology grants portfolio, managed by
Dr. Ram Tiwari.
New SRP Publications
Coughlin SS, Richards TB, Thompson T, Miller BA, Vaneenwyk
J., Goodman MT, Sherman RL. Rural/nonrural differences in
colorectal cancer incidence in the United States, 1998-2001.
Cancer. 2006 Jun 26;107(S5):1181-8.
Fay MP, Tiwari RC, Feuer EJ, Zou Z. Estimating average annual
percent change for disease rates without assuming constant
change. Biometrics. 2006; 62:847-854.
Gumpertz ML, Miller BA, Pickle LW, Bell SB. Geographic pat-
terns of advanced breast cancer in Los Angeles: associations with
biological and sociodemographic factors (United States). Cancer
Causes Control. 2006;17:325-99.
Harlan LC, Clegg LX, Abrams J, Stevens JL, Ballard-Barba
Community-based use of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early-
stage breast cancer: 1987-2000. J Clin Oncol. 2006 Feb 20;24(6):872-7.
Mariotto AB, Wesley MN, Cronin KA, Johnson KA, Feuer EJ. Estimates
of long-term survival for newly diagnosed cancer patients: a
projection approach. Cancer. 2006 May 1;106(9): 2039-50.
Pickle L. Evaluating data with GIS and spatial statistical
analyses. HealthyGIS. Summer 2006;1-3.
Swan J, Breen N, Burhansstipanov L, Satter DE, Davis WW, McNeel T,
Snipp CM. Cancer screening and risk factor rates among American
Indians. Am J Public Health. 2006 Feb;96(2):340-50.
Yu B, Tiwari RC. Multiple imputation methods for modeling
relative survival data. Stat Med. 2006;25:2946-2955.
SEER Registry Staff News
Bill Wright Retires; Rosemary Cress
Appointed New PI
William E. Wright, Ph.D., stepped
down in July as the SEER Principal
Investigator (PI) for the Greater
California Registry after 5 years.
Taking over as PI for this registry is
Rosemary D. Cress, Dr.P.H. Dr. Cress
has been with the California Cancer
Registry (CCR) since 1995 and has
been a co-investigator with the
SEER program since 2005. She has extensive experience
working with both the NCI and CDC on research related to
cancer surveillance and patterns of care.
Dr. Cress received her M.P.H. and Dr.P.H. in epidemiology from
Tulane University. Her research interests include gynecologic
cancers, colorectal cancer, quality of cancer care, and health
disparities. She currently is assistant adjunct professor of
Epidemiology at the University of California at Davis School of
Medicine and is the Research Program Director of the Cancer
Epidemiology Research Unit at the CCR/Public Health Institute
(PHI). PHI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting
health, well-being, and quality of life for all through research
and evaluation, training, and technical assistance, and to the
forging of partnerships within California communities.
Sally Glaser To Be PI, With Cynthia O'Malley
and Dee West As Co-Investigators
Sally L. Glaser, Ph.D., a Research
Scientist at the Northern California
Cancer Center and a Consulting
Associate Professor in the
Department of Health Research
and Policy at Stanford University,
has assumed the position as
Principal Investigator (PI) and
Director of the Greater Bay Area
Cancer Registry. Dr. Glaser is an
epidemiologist who received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees
from the University of California at Berkeley. In addition
to the use of population-based surveillance data to understand cancer incidence and outcomes, her research interests
include the etiology of Hodgkin lymphoma and breast
cancer. Dr. Glaser came to the SEER program in 1991 with
a focus on data usage and surveillance research and served
as Director for Surveillance Research for many years.
Cynthia D. O'Malley, Ph.D., a
Research Scientist at the Northern
California Cancer Center and lecturer
at Stanford University, serves as
Co-Investigator and Deputy
Director of the Greater Bay Area
Cancer Registry. Dr. O'Malley
earned her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees
in epidemiology from the University
of California at Berkeley and
worked in the area of infectious diseases and immunization
prior to coming to the Northern California Cancer Center
and the SEER program in 1999. Her research interests in
cancer epidemiology include ovarian and cervical cancer,
surveillance research, and cancer outcomes, including the
impact of comorbidity.
Dee W. West, Ph.D., previous PI and now Co-Investigator
of the Greater Bay Area Cancer Registry, first became
involved with SEER in 1979 as part of a bladder cancer
study and went on to serve as PI in both the Utah and
Northern California registries. He received his Ph.D. in
medical sociology/epidemiology from the State University
of New York at Buffalo. Currently, he serves on the
Steering
Committee for the State of California
Cancer Control Plan and chairs the
National Coordinating Council for
Cancer Surveillance. He is Chief
Scientific Officer for the Northern
California Cancer Center, Professor
in the Department of Health
Research and Policy Epidemiology
at Stanford University, and past
president of the North American
Association of Central Cancer Registries.
Betsy Kohler, President of NAACCR
Betsy A. Kohler, M.P.H., C.T.R., is
president of the North American
Association of Central Cancer
Registries, Inc. (NAACCR).
Established in 1987, NAACCR is a
professional organization that
includes all central cancer registries
in the United States and Canada.
The mission of the organization is to
develop and promote uniform data
standards for cancer registration;
provide education and training; certify population-based
registries; aggregate and publish data from central cancer
registries; and promote the use of cancer surveillance data
and systems for cancer control and epidemiologic research,
public health programs, and patient care to reduce the
burden of cancer in North America. In addition, Ms. Kohler
has worked in cancer epidemiology for 25 years at the New
Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, serving as
the Principal Investigator of the New Jersey State Cancer
Registry and Director of Cancer Epidemiology Services.
Obituary: Ronald Ross
Ronald K. Ross, M.D., pioneering
researcher on the relationship
between hormones and cancer and
chair of the renowned Department of
Preventive Medicine at the University
of Southern California's (USC) Keck
School of Medicine, died of brain
cancer April 21, 2006, at age 57.
Born in Muscatine, Iowa, Dr. Ross earned a bachelor's
degree from Rutgers University and his master's and
medical degrees in preventive medicine and environmental
health from the University of Iowa in 1975. In 1976, Dr.
Ross joined the USC faculty—in what was then known as
the Department of Community and Family Medicine—and
thus began his remarkable 30-year career. In 1987, he
became director of the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance
Program, which became a SEER registry in 1992, and is
noted for conducting population based studies and evaluating demographic patterns of cancer risk.
With more than 250 publications to his name, Dr. Ross
was recognized as a leading authority on hormone-related
cancers. He held the Catherine and Joseph Aresty Chair in
Urologic Cancer, Flora L. Thornton Chair in Preventive
Medicine, and was the top-funded faculty member at the
Keck School of Medicine.
Dr. Ross is survived by his wife and their three children.
The family requests that donations in his name go to the
Dr. Ronald Ross Cancer Fund at the USC Norris Comprehensive
Cancer Center, 1441 Eastlake Avenue, Room 8302, Los Angeles,
CA 90033.
SEER Registry Staff Profile
Dennis Deapen, Dr.P.H., Director of the Cancer Surveillance Program,
Los Angeles County
Dennis M. Deapen, Dr.P.H., current
Principal Investigator of the Los
Angeles SEER registry and Director
since 2000, is also a professor of
Preventive Medicine at the University
of Southern California's Keck School
of Medicine. Dr. Deapen has been
involved with the Los Angeles
County registry since 1988, and
oversaw its transition to the SEER
program in 1992. His expertise in the field of cancer surveillance is an invaluable asset to achieving the SEER program's
goal of collecting complete and accurate data on all cancers
diagnosed among residents of geographic areas covered by
SEER cancer registries.
After earning his M.P.H. in epidemiology from Loma Linda
University, Dr. Deapen received his Dr.P.H. in epidemiology
from the University of California (USC), Los Angeles. He joined
the staff at USC in 1977 and was appointed to the faculty in
1982. During his tenure at USC, he has been a pioneer in
studying the health risks of breast implants. He also has been
involved in the California Teachers Study, one of the largest
cohort studies in the Nation. Using data from the California
Cancer Registry since 1994, Dr. Deapen and colleagues have
shown that teachers in California have been diagnosed with
breast cancer at a disproportionately high rate compared to
other groups with similar demographics. This study has
demonstrated the value of population-based cancer registries
in identifying disparities that are not limited by social strata.
According to Dr. Deapen, "Even as surveillance data are used
to reveal disparities, it serves to advance equality by leading
to improvements in public health."
Recently, Dr. Deapen has been conducting innovative research
in the field of cancer data acquisition on the potential underreporting of cancer incidence from nonhospital sources. One
study, an NCI-funded special investigation, seeks to determine
the number of cancer cases being diagnosed and treated in
physicians' offices but omitted from cancer surveillance
programs. This applies particularly to common cancers
such as melanoma and early-stage breast and prostate cancers,
which are being diagnosed with increasing frequency at the
offices of the more than 25,000 Los Angeles County licensed
physicians. Incidence rates have continued to increase for all
of these cancers, and there is concern that—if the cancer
surveillance system is in fact missing some of these cases—the magnitude of the problem is being underestimated. In the
coming year, Dr. Deapen and his team will review patient
records from dermatologists' and dermatolopathologists' offices to ascertain how many cases are occurring that are
not being reported. Using these data, they will seek to
establish procedures for a new surveillance—approach in
the hopes of decreasing delays and missing reports to
produce cancer incidence rates with increased accuracy.
In addition to his research in the field of cancer surveillance,
Dr. Deapen has served the registry community through his
involvement in numerous professional organizations. He
was the President of the North American Association
of Central Cancer Registries from 2003 to 2005 and was the
North American Representative to the International Association
of Cancer Registries from 2001 to 2006. Proud to be partnered
with leading authorities on cancer registration, Dr. Deapen's
vision for the future of cancer surveillance is bright. "From
my perspective, people working in surveillance are unusually
dedicated to their work and often go to great lengths to
produce high-quality results," he explains. Dr. Deapen
believes that this dedication translates into increased
recognition within the research community of the importance of cancer surveillance in producing the highest quality data for epidemiological research.
Selected SEER Publications From Dr. Deapen's SEER Experience
Bernstein L, Patel AV, Ursin G, Sullivan-Halley J, Press MF,
Deapen D, Berlin JA, Daling JR, McDonald JA, Norman SA,
Malone KE, Strom BL, Liff J, Folger SG, Simon MS, Burkman RT,
Marchbanks PA, Weiss LK, Spirtas R. Lifetime recreational exercise activity and breast cancer risk among black women and
white women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005 Nov 16;97(22):1671-9.
Deapen, D. Cancer surveillance and information: balancing
public health with privacy and confidentiality concerns (United
States). Cancer Causes Control. 2006 Jun;17(5):633-7.
Morrow M, Mujahid M, Lantz PM, Janz NK, Fagerl
Schwartz K, Liu L, Deapen D, Salem B, Lakhani I, Katz SJ. Correlates of breast reconstruction: results from a population-based study. Cancer. 2005 Dec 1;104(11):2340-6.
Janz NK, Mujahid M, Lantz PM, Fagerlin A, Salem B, Morrow
M, Deapen D, Katz SJ. Population-based study of the relationship of treatment and sociodemographics on quality of life for
early stage breast cancer. Qual Life Res. 2005 Aug;14(6):1467-79.
Katz SJ, Lantz PM, Janz NK, Fagerlin A, Schwartz K, Liu L,
Deapen D, Salem B, Lakhani I, Morrow M. Patient involvement
in surgery treatment decisions for breast cancer. J Clin Oncol.
2005 Aug 20;23(24):5526-33.
Katz SJ, Lantz PM, Janz NK, Fagerlin A, Schwartz K, Liu L, Deapen
D, Salem B, Lakhani I, Morrow M. Patterns and correlates of local
therapy for women with ductal carcinoma in-situ. J Clin Oncol. 2005
May 1;23(13):3001-7.
Simon MS, Mueller BA, Deapen D, Copeland G. A comparison of
record linkage yield for health research using different variable sets.
Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2005 Jan;89(2):107-10.
New SEER Publications
Ahmed F, Goodman MT, Kosary C, Ruiz B, Wu XC,
Chen VW, Correa CN. Excess risk of subsequent primary
cancers among colorectal carcinoma survivors, 1975-2001. Cancer.
2006 Sep 1;107(S5):1162-71.
Clarke CA, Undurraga DM, Harasty PJ, Glaser SL, Morton LM,
Holly EA. Changes in cancer registry coding for lymphoma
subtypes: reliability over time and relevance for surveillance and
study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006 Apr;15(4):630-8.
Coker AL, Du XL, Fang S, Eggleston KS. Socioeconomic status and
cervical cancer survival among older women: findings from the
SEER-Medicare linked data cohorts. Gynecol Oncol. 2006
Aug;102(2):278-84.
Cohen JH, Schoenbach VJ, Kaufman JS, Talcott JA, Schenck AP,
Peacock S, Symons M, Amamoo MA, Carpenter WR, Godley PA.
Racial differences in clinical progression among Medicare recipients after treatment for localized prostate cancer (United States).
Cancer Causes Control. 2006 Aug;17(6):803-11.
Cote ML, Wenzlaff AS, Philip PA, Schwartz AG. Secondary cancers after a lung carcinoid primary: a population-based analysis.
Lung Cancer. 2006 Jun;52(3):273-9.
Cress RD, Morris C, Ellison GL, Goodman MT. Secular changes
in colorectal cancer incidence by subsite, stage at diagnosis, and
race/ethnicity, 1992-2001. Cancer. 2006 Sep 1;107(S5):1142-52.
Deorah S, Lynch CF, Sibenaller ZA, Ryken TC. Trends in brain
cancer incidence and survival in the United States: Surveillance,
Epidemiology, and End Results Program, 1973 to 2001. Neurosurg
Focus. 2006 Apr 15;20(4):E1.
Gomez SL, Glaser SL. Misclassification of race/ethnicity in a population-based cancer registry (United States). Cancer Causes Control.
2006 Aug;17(6):771-81.
Maskarinec G, Zhang Y, Takata Y, Pagano I, Shumay DM,
Goodman MT, Marchand LL, Nomura AM, Wilkens LR, Kolonel
LN. Trends of breast cancer incidence and risk factor prevalence
over 25 years. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2006 Jul;98(1):45-55.
Matasar MJ, Ritchie EK, Consedine N, Magai C, Neugut AI.
Incidence rates of acute promyelocytic leukemia among
Hispanics, blacks, Asians, and non-Hispanic whites in the
United States. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2006 Aug;15(4):367-70.
Smith HO, Berwick M, Verschraegen CF, Wiggins C, Lansing L,
Muller CY, Qualls CR. Incidence and survival rates for female
malignant germ cell tumors. Obstet Gynecol. 2006
May;107(5):1075-85.
Snyder OB, Kelly JJ, Lanier AP. Prostate cancer in Alaska Native
men, 1969-2003. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2006 Feb;65(1):8-17.
CISNET Staff Profile
Sylvia Plevritis, Ph.D., Stanford
School of Medicine
Sylvia K. Plevritis, Ph.D., is an
Associate Research Professor of
Radiology and a member of the
Comprehensive Cancer Center at the
Stanford School of Medicine. She is a
grantee in the breast cancer group
and an affiliate member of the lung
cancer group within the Cancer
Intervention and Surveillance
Modeling Network (CISNET, cisnet.cancer.gov). While involved with CISNET's efforts to model
the impact of cancer control interventions (i.e., screening,
treatment, and prevention) at the population level, Dr. Plevritis
also is involved in mathematical modeling of cancer at the
molecular level as part of NCI's Integrated Cancer Biology
Program (http://icbp.nci.nih.gov), sponsored by the Division
of Cancer Biology. Her ability to work on the cancer problem
at multiple levels gives her a unique perspective into the
complete spectrum of cancer research, from discovery to
development to delivery. Her visionary work attempts to link
cancerous events at the molecular level to patient outcomes
and integrate these linkages at the population level.
Dr. Plevritis coined the term "virtual SEER" when referring
to CISNET's goal to simulate what is occurring within a population. The strength of the CISNET model-based approach is
that it not only aims to simulate cancer incidence and
mortality data as observed in the actual U.S. population, but also to simulate counterfactual situations to represent what
would have happened if screening or treatment innovations
had not been introduced (see e.g., Berry et al., below).
Recently, Dr. Plevritis published a simulation-based study in
JAMA (see Plevritis et al., below) using her breast cancer
model to show that MRI, while an expensive technology for
breast cancer screening, may be cost-effective for women who
are at high risk for breast cancer due to BRCA1/2 mutations.
Educated at Stanford University, Dr. Plevritis received her
master's degree in health services research and her Ph.D. in
electrical engineering before joining the Stanford faculty. During
her tenure at Stanford, Dr. Plevritis has applied her unique
multidisciplinary background to the development and statistical
verification of cancer progression models intended to predict the
long-term health benefits of new cancer imaging technologies.
Honored to be one of seven groups developing independent
models of breast cancer for CISNET, Dr. Plevritis stated that
she truly believes in the CISNET approach of creating a consortium of models and modelers for constructive critical review.
By amassing information from different sources, CISNET enables
modelers to "start thinking about the challenge of evaluating
cancer control programs in a more meaningful way."
Selected CISNET Publications From Dr. Plevritis
Plevritis SK, Kurian AW, Sigal BM, Daniel BL, Ikeda DM,
Stockdale FE, Garber AM. Cost-effectiveness of screening
BRCA1/2 mutation carriers with breast magnetic resonance
imaging. JAMA. 2006 May 24/31;295(20):2374-84.
Plevritis SK, Salzman P, Sigal BM, Glynn PW. A natural history
model of stage progression applied to breast cancer, Stat Med.
2006, April 5 [Epub ahead of print; PubMed ID: 16598706]
Berry DA, Cronin KA, Plevritis SK, Fryback DG, Clarke L, Zelen
M, Mandelblatt JS, Yakovlev AY, Habbema JD, Feuer EJ. Cancer
Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET)
Collaborators. Effect of screening and adjuvant therapy on mortality from breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2005 Oct
27;353(17):1784-92.
Boer R, Plevritis S, Clarke L. Diversity of model approaches for
breast cancer screening: a review of model assumptions by the
Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Network (CISNET) Breast
Cancer Groups. Stat Methods Med Res. 2004 Dec; 13(6):525-38.
New CISNET Publications
Breast Working Group
Plevritis SK, Kurian AW, Sigal BM, Daniel BL, Ikeda DM,
Stockdale FE, Garber AM. Cost-effectiveness of screening
BRCA1/2 mutation carriers with breast magnetic resonance
imaging. JAMA. 2006 May 24;295(20):2374-84.
Plevritis SK, Salzman P, Sigal BM, Glynn PW. A natural history
model of stage progression applied to breast cancer, Stat Med.
2006, April 5 [Epub ahead of print; PubMed ID: 16598706]
Lung Working Group
Levy DT, Bauer J, Lee HR. The use of simulation models to
examine the effect of public policies in a dynamic social system. Am J Public Health (in press).
Levy DT, Ross H, Powell L, Bauer J, Lee HR. The role of public
policies in reducing smoking prevalence in Arizona: results
from the Arizona tobacco policy simulation model. J Public
Health Manag Pract (in press).
Levy DT, Mumford EA, Cummings KM, Gilpin EA, Giovino GA,
Hyland A, Sweanor D, Warner KE, Compton C. The potential
impact of a low-nitrosamine smokeless tobacco product on
cigarette smoking in the United States: estimates of a panel of
experts. Addict Behav. 2006 Jul;31(7):1190-200. Epub 2005
Oct 26.
Prostate Working Group
Draisma G, Postma R, Schroder FH, van der Kwast TH,
de Koning HJ. Gleason score, age and screening: modeling
dedifferentiation in prostate cancer. Int J Cancer. 2006 Jul 20;
[Epub ahead of print].
General Methods
Holford TR. Approaches to fitting age-period-cohort models
with unequal intervals. Stat Med. 2006 Mar 30;25(6):977-93.
SEER Public-Use Data Files
SEER Public-Use Data files may be accessed via the SEER Program Web site at http://seer.cancer.gov.
Users should select SEER Data, 1973-2003, in
the leftmost or center columns, or go directly to
http://seer.cancer.gov/data/. A signed data use
agreement is required to gain access. The data include
SEER incidence and population data associated by age,
sex, race, year of diagnosis, and geographic areas,
including SEER registry and county.
Data may be accessed via the Internet (client server),
with the user specifying parameters, but the actual
analysis must be performed on the SEER server. This
mode of analysis requires users to download and install
the current version of the SEER*Stat Installation program. Internet connection is required while performing
the analysis, and any firewalls must allow communication
with the SEER server.
This method provides access to the widest range of databases and automatic updates on new releases of the
SEER*Stat program. Compact disks containing software
and data are available on request.
SEER-Medicare data supply detailed information on
cancer in individuals over the age of 65 by linking SEER
cancer registry data on clinical, demographic, and cause-of-death information for patients with Medicare claims
for covered health care services from the time of a person's
Medicare eligibility until death. Information is provided
on patterns of care, recurrence, and cost of treatment and
can be linked to SEER cancer cases. Data coverage
includes only those over the age of 65, however, and data
are lacking for individuals who are enrolled in HMOs.
See healthservices.cancer.gov/seermedicare/.
The basic application of SEER*Stat can calculate
frequencies and rates, including trends, age-adjusted
rates, incidence-based mortality rates, survival statistics,
and prevalence. A tutorial program is provided and, subject
to the data use agreement mentioned above, data for individual records with identifying data removed. See
seer.cancer.gov/seerstat/.
SEER*Prep software converts user-supplied ASCII text
data files with suitable characteristics to the SEER*Stat
database format. This allows users to analyze non-SEER
data using SEER*Stat. SEER*Prep performs two main
functions: (1) converting text data to the specific binary
format required by SEER*Stat, and (2) creating the
SEER*Stat data dictionary. See seer.cancer.gov/seerprep/.
SEER also offers interactive data query systems for
statistics. Fast Stats is a Web system for easy, rapid
access to key SEER and U.S. cancer statistics at various
sites. Data may be selected by age group, sex, race, and
year of diagnosis. Incidence is the default statistic displayed; survival, prevalence, and lifetime risk also may
be available, depending on the data site. Depending on
the statistic selected, data may be presented in various
graph or chart formats. The statistics also are available as
text-only files of numbers. See seer.cancer.gov/faststats/.
The Cancer Query Systems (CANQUES) are alternative
Web-based applications that allow users to generate
reports from statistics in the SEER Cancer Statistics
Review and other online databases. CANQUES offers
more flexibility than Fast Stats and allows users to select
the type of statistics and variables and the format of the
report, and to output the statistics in a format that can
be used by other software. See seer.cancer.gov/canques/.
More specialized software also is available. Joinpoint is
statistical software for the analysis of trends over time
using regression models in which multiple line segments
that represent individual trends are connected at the "joinpoints." See srab.cancer.gov/joinpoint/.
DevCan calculates incidence and mortality rates using
cross-sectional counts of incident cases from SEER areas,
mortality counts for the same areas from National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS) data, and mortality rates
using population estimates from census data for these
areas. These rates are converted to the probabilities of
developing or dying from cancer for a hypothetical
population. Racial and ethnic data are now available. See
srab.cancer.gov/devcan/.
ComPrev software calculates complete prevalence based
on limited-duration prevalence statistics and contains
input parameters to perform these calculations for sex,
race, and a wide range of cancer sites. Two tutorials are
provided with the ComPrev software, and a password is
required to download the installation program. See
http://srab.cancer.gov/comprev/.
In the ProjPrev application, the Limited-Duration
Prevalence statistics are taken from SEER*Stat and
applied to populations generally differing in year or
geographic area. The primary use of this application is
to derive U.S. prevalence by projecting SEER prevalence
onto U.S. populations. A password is required to download the software and corresponding tutorials. See
http://srab.cancer.gov/projprev/.
CanSurv is a statistical software package used to analyze
population-based survival data. Currently, population-based survival data extracted from SEER*Stat survival
sessions are used, however, other survival data file formats
will be allowed in future versions. CanSurv can fit the
standard survival models and the mixture cure survival
models for grouped survival data and can fit parametric
(cure) survival models to individually listed data. See
http://srab.cancer.gov/cansurv/.
Surveillance Research Program Staff
- Office of the Associate Director (OAD)
Telephone: 301-496-8506
Fax: 301-480-4077
Brenda K. Edwards, Ph.D., Associate Director
Megan Clark, M.P.H. Candidate, Health Communications Intern
Betsy Flagg, B.A., Program Analyst
Amy Garson, B.S., Program Analyst
Terri Harshman, Program Analyst
Steve Meersman, Ph.D., Scientist, Social Determinants Surveillance Research
Marsha Reichman, Ph.D., Surveillance Research Coordinator
Judith Swan, M.H.S., Public Health Advisor
- Cancer Statistics Branch
Telephone: 301-496-8510
Fax: 301-480-4077
Marsha E. Reichman, Ph.D., Acting Chief
Peggy Adamo, R.H.I.T., C.T.R., Technical Information Specialist
Milton Eisner, Ph.D., Health Statistician
Matthew Hayat, Ph.D., Biostatistician
Marie-Josephe (M.J.) Horner, M.S.P.H., Epidemiologist
Nadia Howlader, M.S., Biostatistician
Carol Johnson, B.S., C.T.R., Technical Information Specialist
Carol Kosary, M.A., Mathematical Statistician
Denise R. Lewis, Ph.D., M.P.H., Epidemiologist
Barry Miller, Dr.P.H., Epidemiologist
Antoinette Percy-Laurry, M.S.P.H., Histology Project Coordinator
Lynn Ries, M.S., Health Statistician
Dave Stinchcomb, M.A.-Geo/M.S.C.S., Geographer
- Statistical Research & Applications Branch (SRAB)
Telephone: 301-435-7739
Fax: 301-480-2046
Eric J. (Rocky) Feuer, Ph.D., Chief
Kathy Cronin, Ph.D., Mathematical Statistician
Barnali Das, Ph.D., Mathematical Statistician
Bill Davis, Ph.D., Mathematical Statistician
Kevin Dodd, Ph.D., Mathematical Statistician
Lan Huang, Ph.D., Mathematical Statistician
Angela Mariotto, Ph.D., Mathematical Statistician
Linda Pickle, Ph.D., Mathematical Statistician
Ram Tiwari, Ph.D., Mathematical Statistician
- Division of
Extramural
Activities Support
(DEAS)
Telephone: 301-496-8506
Fax: 301-480-2046
Nailah Agyemann,
Task Leader
Ann Olumba, Extramural
Support Assistant
Sue Hoffman, Extramural Support
Assistant
Miquel Sample-Jubilee, Extramural Support Assistant
- Administrative Resource Center (ARC)
Telephone: 301-451-9470
Fax: 301-435-5071
Mary Kashanchi, Deputy ARC Manager
Steve Brown, Purchasing Agent
Anne Garvey, Administrative Officer
Rhonda Turner, Administrative Technician
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